With an economically-crippling global pandemic rampant, it is rare for a company reporting increased sales in the first half of 2020. Yet leading European flooring systems producer, Acrylicon, has not only achieved this but has managed to be classified as an “essential product supplier” in some countries.
For flooring to be regarded in this light means it is an essential role player in the field of hygiene and bacterial resistance. Acrylicon flooring, soon to be distributed in South Africa by KBAC Flooring, can thank one man’s foresight for this survival quality.
It was during the mid-1970s – decades before Covid-19 arrived to change the world – that Bjorn Hegstad, the founder and inventor of Acrylicon resin flooring, realised that the need for hygienic and easy to clean floors, particularly from food producers and medical facilities, had arrived and would grow enormously in future.
So, in his homeland, Norway, Hegstad started researching how to create germ-free, seamless resin flooring that would meet the market requirements and be ultra-fast to lay, extraordinarily strong, attractive, slip-resistant, and durable. Eventually, in 1977, after several years of research and many trials, the Acrylicon Decor System was born and immediately hailed by the Norwegian food sector – especially the country’s major fish industry. At last there was a hard-wearing flooring system that could handle the stresses and strains of messy food processing.
By identifying the best generic properties in the raw materials, Hegstad and his team were able to develop a system that combined two essential qualities of a winning flooring solution: a fast curing time coupled with high compressive strength.
Acrylicon began developing several derivative and complementary floor systems that not only met the needs of each client, but exceeded them. Today, it offers an amazing two-hour curing time which means that, instead of losing production for days or even weeks until new floors are usable, Acrylicon floor systems can be used the very next day. And Acrylicon flooring is strong – almost beyond belief. The special primers in the flooring penetrate the substrate to such an extent that the new floors are permanently “welded” to the base. Try to remove Acrylicon flooring, even just two hours after laying, and you will also end up with split aggregate torn from the old concrete base.
Acrylicon was taken internationally in the mid-90s when several multi-national clients wanted the same standard of flooring for all their worldwide facilities. This rising global demand led to the establishment of offices in the UK, Canada, America, Egypt and Middle East, and the company has now grown to become an international reputable manufacturer and installer of flooring solutions, with a large production facility in Germany.
The creation of this modern factory in Germany cemented Acrylicon’s worldwide reputation. At the state-of-the-art facility, Acrylicon is still seeking to advance quality by continuing further high-quality research in development laboratories, and uphold an exceptional level of quality control. Acrylicon has grown into an international company with many prestigious installations to its name. Its motto “wherever clients require solutions to their flooring problems, we will be there” has now led to the reputable company formalising its SA distribution agreement with a local company of equal repute, KBAC Flooring, which has won the trust of its market over more than 50 years of operations on the southern tip of Africa.
KBAC distributes some of the most sustainable flooring in the world so Acrylicon, as one of the most sustainable resin flooring available anywhere, is an ideal addition to the KBAC product portfolio. The Green Building Council in Europe rewards businesses that install an Acrylicon flooring system with a high rating for criteria such as Indoor Environmental Quality, and Acrylicon is bound to win similar recognition from all environmental bodies, and property-owners seeking long life and quality above budget pricing, here in South Africa.
